Johannesburg - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Monday called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to accept finance minister Nhlanhla Nene's alleged offer to resign from his position following revelations that he had secret meetings with members of the controversial Gupta family.
On Monday, it emerged that Nene reportedly asked Ramaphosa to relieve him of his duties after he confirmed before the commission of inquiry into state capture last week that he had visited the Gupta family on numerous occasions between 2009 and 2014. Nene apologised on Friday for not disclosing earlier his meetings with the Guptas.
However, Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman said on Monday his office was not aware of Nene’s request to be relieved of his duties after he admitted to visiting the Gupta brothers.
“We are not aware of Minister Nene asking to be relieved of his duties,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko said.
In a statement, the EFF said that through its leader Julius Malema, it has written a formal letter to Ramaphosa calling on him to accept the offer made by Nene to resign.
"We reiterate our position that his continued stay as minister of finance is not in the best interest of South Africa. Treasury cannot be presided over by a person without integrity," the EFF said.
"Nene has lied on numerous occasions about his role in cabinet and government. He has also facilitated the capture of the state by the criminal Gupta syndicate. He was party to the most unpatriotic state capture by a family of foreign nationals."
The EFF said that Ramaphosa must release Nene from his duties with immediate effect as the last thing the country needs is a finance minister with a questionable character capable of unethical conduct.
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